disposal leak, replacement, potential can o worms

Hi All,
My Badger 5 is leaking from a hole in the housing. Grrr. I have a new Badger 5 in a box, begging to be installed. Only for aesthetics, I would like to change the basket strainer on the sink side and maybe change the strainer on the Badger side, too. My plumbing is pretty old, but working. Based on my pictures, would you guys change everything out to PVC or should I let sleeping dogs lie and JUST change the Badger? I'm also enclosing the picture of the next door condo's kitchen. If you guys suggest I redo everything, is that a good example?
Thanks!
Attachment 19116Attachment 19117Attachment 19118

Both are wrong get a pro in there!

There's no trap or vent. Get a plumber.

John

Why not just get another Can ?


Attachment 19119

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by johnjh2o1

There's no trap or vent. Get a plumber.

John

---

What John said.

When you get the plumber in, have him rebuild that mess with plastic pipe, as it tends to transmit less noise than metal. This is important
with the infamous Badger 5. Then get with your condo officials and ask why neither you nor your neighbor have sanitary, code-compliant
drainage facilities. Suggest that if they do not fix the situation at their expense, you may have to call in the city/county/state/whatever
plumbing inspector.

Here's the deal. Most, if not all condo associations require all plumbing and electrical work to be done by a licensed and bonded plumber/electrician. You are not allowed to DIY any of that. So, best advice is go to the condo board with this. Don't do any more work yourself. It is absolutely certain that this work was not done by a plumber, not even a half decent handyman. It might be wise to check with other condo owners and see if their plumbing is the same.

The others have called it correctly. The unprotected NM electrical cable is a code violation also. Your can of worms is bigger than you thought.

Unless BOTH installations have the "P" trap under the floor, which is a different can of worms, neither installation is correct, OR "safe". BUT, you would have to know whether it is or is not there before you can even think about doing it "correctly".

Thanks guys!
These were built as apartments in '69 and converted to condos in '79. I only know about the last fifteen years.

The pictures are of two adjacent first-floor condos. Moreover, I spoke with four other neighbors and they have the exact same layout. Of course, everyone notices that one sink 'acts' as a vent for the other sink, and everyone wishes for the accessibility of a p-trap for jewelery or whatever. One neighbor just had his whole condo remodeled and he got a one-bay sink. He notices it drains a lot more slowly than when he had a two-bay sink.

The p-trap is underneath the floor. It flows three feet to a wall at the end of the kitchen that contains a big cast iron drain pipe and a galvanized steel air stack. These tie into the upstairs condo, correspondingly.

The condo with the pvc was done by a licensed plumber back in 2003, or so. That unit had a collapsed(?) wastewater line and the foundation was jackhammered and new pipes were put in.

The condo with the steel pipes is mostly original. The instant hot water heater was installed by a licensed plumber in 2001. I think he intercepted the electrical line and added the switch (far left in the picture) for the disposal and the outlet (bottom middle) for the heater. That water tank rotted out and a new hot water heater was installed by a different licensed plumber in 2010. I'm not sure if the Badger is from the 1980 condo conversion.

So, except for putting in a new Moen cartridge in the faucet myself, the layout has only been touched by licensed plumbers. It seems that just about everything in these old condos is grandfathered, for better or worse.

Unfortunately, nothing is coming out of the HOA's expense. It's coming out of my pocket; and my pocket's got holes.
What do you guys suggest? I mean, it does function okay, except for the hole in the Badger's casing. Thanks, again.

One sink does NOT act as a vent for the other one, OR the "P" trap, BUT, it does allow the air trapped in the vertical pipe to escape. That does not happen with a single sink which is why it drains slower.